Editorial

On the brink

With the warming of the planet and the myriad of related environmental consequences, there has never been a more important time to conduct and publish environmental research. New technologies are also pushing an environmental agenda, from nanotechnology to renewable biofuels and water reuse processes. The Journal of Environmental Monitoring (JEM) is poised to lead in the publishing of this exciting research, as it reaches its tenth anniversary this year. The last year and a half has seen a transformative change in JEM, as it has emerged from adolescence and become a mature and healthy publication. We completed a strategic positioning process and have nearly completed its implementation.

One of the more important changes has been the expansion of the Editorial Advisory Board. We have added a number of world-class scientists to the Board, to broaden the expertise represented on the Board and also to support and raise the profile of the journal. We are pleased to welcome Professor Peter Liss, from East Anglia University (UK), who brings his extensive atmospheric sciences and climate change experience to the Board; Dr Beate Escher, a rising star in ecotoxicology from EAWAG (Switzerland); Dr Bernhard Michalke, a metals speciation expert from the GSF National Research Center for Environment and Health (Germany); and Dr Stephen Mudge, University of Wales (UK), who brings his expertise in environmental forensics. We continue to benefit from the guidance of our other Board members, Professor Kevin Jones, University of Lancaster (UK), Dr Martin Harper, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US), Professor Omowunmi Sadik, State University of New York-Binghamton (US), and Dr Jose Centeno, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (US). We have taken advantage of this diversity to add perspectives on nanotechnology, and expand our critical reviews.

This year, it will be ten years since the launch of JEM, which took place at the AIRMON Conference in Norway in 1999, thus it is only fitting that our celebrations will also be launched at this conference on January 27th in Geilo, Norway, with a JEM sponsored Lecture and sponsorship for the meeting. We will be celebrating this anniversary in a number of ways and in so doing, hope to offer even greater support to the relevant JEM communities. We will be sponsoring JEM lectures at relevant major conferences; we will run special anniversary Editorials from senior figures in the Environmental sector and we shall also be featuring a series of anniversary reviews in the journal. Editorial staff and Board Members will be attending many meetings throughout the year and we sincerely look forward to meeting you and hearing your feedback on any aspect of the journal.

JEM has seen a steady improvement in quality and recognition, with the metrics of success all going in the right direction. Our rejection rate is high (80%), with an increase in submissions, resulting in greater selectivity of accepted articles and an overall increase in quality. We have also benefited from a number of forward-looking and innovative publication policies and tools at the RSC, which are explained in detail below.

Finally, we would like to express our sincere thanks to all our authors who provide the excellent work that is published in the journal; our reviewers, who continue to work hard to provide such an excellent service in filtering out the poor work and maintaining high acceptance standards; and, of course, to you, our readers and subscribers.

We have much to celebrate as we enter our anniversary year—and much environmental science to publish. Join us as we go forward into our second decade of success, publishing cutting edge research on environmental processes and impacts.

Award-winning technology and enhanced HTML articles

Launched in February 2007, RSC Project Prospect has had an exceptional first year. Bringing science alive via enhanced HTML articles in RSC journals, the project delivers: hyperlinked compound information (including downloadable structures) in text; links to IUPAC Gold Book terms; ontology terms linked to definitions and related articles; plus RSS feeds that include structured subject and compound information, enabling at-a-glance identification of relevant articles. As the only publisher able to offer these enhancements, we were delighted to be awarded the 2007 ALPSP/Charlesworth Award for Publishing Innovation, where judges described RSC Prospect articles as “delightfully simple to use … benefits to authors and readers are immediately obvious.” Around 1400 articles have now been published with enhanced HTML—to see for yourself, look out for the RSC Prospect icon on our website. Further developments to the project will be announced in 2008. Many of you have already told us how impressed you are with the project, http://www.projectprospect.org has examples of enhanced articles, feedback from the scientific community, plus the latest news.

Following feedback from journal readers, a number of changes have been introduced across all RSC Journals. The Journal of Environmental Monitoring (JEM) homepage now contains the contents list for the current issue, delivering the content you want to see as soon as you arrive at the site. Graphical abstracts are included as standard, allowing you to browse content much more conveniently. A more prominent and easy-to-use search box also makes finding published research much more intuitive. Advance Articles are now also available in pdf format.

For authors, the RSC Journal templates have been revised and updated to assist submission in a format similar to the journal layout. The guidelines for the use of colour in RSC Journals will be relaxed during 2008, and the decision on the free use of colour will be based on whether the use of colour enhances the scientific understanding of the figure (the old policy required the colour to be essential). In addition, for the online version of the journals, colour will be introduced at no cost in both the pdf and html versions.

Energy & Environmental Science

RSC Publishing will be launching a new journal in summer 2008. Energy & Environmental Science will cover all aspects of the chemical sciences relating to energy conversion and storage and environmental science. Subscribers to JEM will have free online access to Energy & Environmental Science from launch. Visit the website for the latest news: http://www.rsc.og/ees

‘JEM book of choice’ scheme

Launched in Spring 2007, the RSC eBook Collection offers scientists across the globe online access to a prestigious and wide ranging portfolio of chemical science books which span 40 years of research and opinion.

The RSC eBook Collection is testament to RSC’s publishing innovation, as well as the high quality of the content contained in our books. With further technical developments and new 2008 content being uploaded throughout the year, the RSC eBook Collection is set to become a key resource. To search the Collection or for further information visit www.rsc.org/ebooks

Scientists from all four corners of the globe are taking advantage of the free first chapter downloads and from January 2008, JEM will regularly highlight a book specifically for our readers through our ‘JEM book of choice’ scheme. More information is available on the JEM website.

25% Book discount for RSC authors, editors and referees

If you would like to buy a print copy of the ‘JEM book of choice’ or other titles from the RSC, and you are an RSC author, editor or referee you can enjoy a special 25% discount on your book purchase. You can redeem this offer online through the RSC Online Shop. To find out how to claim your exclusive discount, visit www.rsc.org/shop

Professor Deborah Swackhamer

Chair, JEM Editorial Board

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